This invention relates generally to the field of devices which are used to clean or remove material from skin pores, such as sebum residues, dirt, bacteria, whiteheads, blackheads, etc., and more particularly the invention relates to such devices which utilize suction to accomplish the task.
When materials become trapped within skin pores, whether internally produced such as sebum or externally contacted such as dirt or bacteria, the natural flow of the pore is blocked and undesirable skin blemishes or conditions develop, such as pimples, white heads or blackheads, also known as comedomes, or acne. In order to relieve the problem, the skin pores must be cleared of the undesirable materials so that the natural expulsion process of the pore is restored and so that medication can be received by the pore.
A well known methodology for addressing this problem is through the use of suction devices which have relatively small suction tips. The tip is pressed against the pore and a vacuum is produced within the device, the internal vacuum extracting the material from within the pore and into the device. An early example of this type of device is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,267,636 to Benton, wherein a spring-biased plunger arrangement is provided. The tip of the apparatus is applied to the pore to be cleaned and the internal plunger is retracted to create suction through the tip, drawing the material into the device. The material is later expelled from the device by moving the plunger forward. Because mechanical manipulation of the device is required for its operation and because the suction effect is non-continuous, the efficiency of the device is relatively limited, since improper placement or movement of the tip during the retraction operation may fail to remove the material from the pore, necessitating multiple attempts to cleanse a single pore. To solve this problem, devices have been developed which utilize a continuous suction, produced mechanically by vacuum pumps or through liquid flow suction systems. For example, Naibert in U.S. Pat. No. 1,732,310 and Brenner in U.S. Pat. No. 3,794,035 show skin suction devices which utilize mechanical means to create a continuous suction through a nozzle pressed against the skin. Schatz in U.S. Pat. No. 5,624,416 shows a suction device which includes a pinching jaw at the distal tip, where the partial vacuum is created by connecting a conduit to a water flow in a manner whereby the water flow creates a partial vacuum in the conduit. Fields er al. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,019,749 shows a suction device where a first suction means is used to draw the skin around the pore outward and a section suction means, internal to the first, is used to draw the material from the pore.
It is an object of this invention to provide a pore cleaning device which utilizes suction to extract material from within the skin pore, the device being an improvement over the known devices used to accomplish this task. To this end, it is a further object to provide such a device which is hand-held and which is operationally simple. It is a further object to provide such a device where the main housing is an elongated tube for easy grasping by the operator, where the tips are removable from the housing, and where a filter is provided to collect the material removed from the pores. It is a further object to provide such a device which provides a visual indication to the operator that the device is properly functioning, as well as a visual indicator of the amount of material removed from successive pores, which is accomplished by composing the elongated tube portion and the filter housing from transparent material.
The invention is in general a device for removing material, such as for example sebum deposits, dirt, bacteria, blackheads, whiteheads, etc., from skin pores by suctioning the material from the pores. The invention comprises in general a hand-held body of elongated shape, the body being tubular and adapted to receive and retain a tip member on its distal end. The tip member has a distal nozzle and a bore of relatively small diameter, the tip bore communicating with the bore of the body. A filter means is disposed either within the body or within a filter cartridge housing connected in communicating manner with the body. Suction means are provided to create a partial vacuum within the device, such that material is drawn from the skin pores through the tip member and the body, where it is entrapped by the filter. At least a portion of the body, and at least a portion of the separate filter cartridge if present, on the upstream side of the filter is formed of a transparent material so that the filter is exposed and so that the operator can monitor the efficacy of the device during use, as well as providing visual evidence of the amount and type of material removed by the device. The tip member may be removable, such that disposable tip members can be used.